Peluso P28 pencil tube condenser mic

I got bored with my mics and my same old setup for my little room jams that I write and record, so I rented the Peluso P28 from RnR Rentals to try and kick up the warmth action a bit. I chose a small diaphragm so I could get the the clarity of a condenser but also the the focus of a pencil mic as I record primarily within thinly blanketed square walls. I found that the mic was great on the octave off axis of an acoustic (an old fender, and new gibson). It delivered nice warmth from the tube and was largely flat in response. Then I stuck a tambourine on it, and to me, that's where the mic shined (I know, tambourine). It gave me a nice fat darker tone, kinda reminiscent of a ribbon but using half the gain. Worked well with the tune at hand. Finally, I got curious and cut a couple of vocal takes with it and to my surprise it sounded really good. I was in my living room about 4.5 feet back from the mic and it let in just enough of the room to flatter without giving away that I have no rug on the tile floor and that my old furnace wouldn't shut up. Very warm. I'm curious to see how a couple of these would sound as drum OH's or on an electric cab. Maybe next time... -Rene

Movie Night

For entertainment at a neighborhood BBQ, I picked up a 2600 lumens Optoma projector and 6' X 8' screen from Rock n Roll Rentals. The kids (natives) were getting restless, and we (adults) turned on a seasonal Charlie Brown movie as the sky began to darken. The wild things sat at attention on blankets in the backyard glued to the action on the screen. The picture was very bright and clear. We have tried projecting on a sheet before, and I must say the screen makes all the difference. It took about 10 minutes to set up the screen, and about 5 minutes to find the best place for the projector. It plugged into the VGA display out of my computer and I used a speaker system that hooked up to the audio output jack. Very little investment for something that entertained so many people. Can't wait for the next neighborhood get together.

by Craig Rock

See projector rental rates and screen rental rates here.
Here is a sample package that is popular.
These great prices available in Austin TX only.

Electroharmonix Memory Toy vs. MXR Carbon Copy

The Memory Toy is an analog delay pedal made by Electroharmonix. It is one the Nano series pedals so you can expect it to be pedal board friendly. It also runs on the standard 9V power supply, which given the history of Electroharmonix power supplies, is a plus. It is similar to the MXR M-169 Carbon Copy Analog Delay pedal. I happen to have a Carbon Copy in my arsenal of pedals and had the privilege to do a shoot out with both pedals. Both have the same simple controls and are easy to dial in: Delay, Mix/Blend, Regen/Feedback, and Modulation. Both of these pedals have a great analog warmth that will make you forget about ever using a digital delay pedal ever again. I will have to say that the MXR Carbon Copy does offer a bit more clarity and warmth. Where the Memory Toy does win is in the price. It is about half the price of the Carbon Copy. For those musicians who are financially challenged, which most of us are, it is a small sacrifice in sonic quality for a great analog delay pedal.

by: Oscar Reyna

note: both pedals are available at Rock n Roll Rentals for sale and/or rental

Royer Ribbons Recording Drums

Rock n Roll Rentals is excited to be the newest Royer Ribbon Microphone dealer. When you think of Ribbons - think Royer, and, if you live in Austin, think Rock n Roll Rentals!

Royer Labs has a great resource online www.royerlabs.com. It is refreshing to approach recording drums using a minimalist approach. Of course it helps to have a good drummer and a good space.

Rock n Roll Rentals has, in stock, 4 R-121's, 2 R-122's, 1 R-122V, & 1 SF-12. We can special order any of the other mics for you as well.

The V256 Vocoder pedal

Electro Harmonix made some smart decisions when designing the v256 vocoder pedal. One of the best features is the Reflex-Tune mode, which is the t-pain/kanye style auto-tune. You do not have to be a great piano player to acheive these tones either.

The pedal has an xlr for the modulation input, and either a guitar or the internal synthesizer can be used for the carrier. This means you do not have to be a guitar player in order to get good tones out of this pedal.

The vocoder also has drone and vox-robo modes. The overall tone and shape can be adjusted through the 5 knobs which include blend(wet/dry) knob, Bands(decides how many bands of vocoding are done, which from the name i would guess it goes up to 256, and the tone, gender bender and the pitch knob which all kind of work with each other.

The v-256 has phantom power as well as a hi/lo mic gain switch, and a midi input. A preset can be saved and recalled at a later time.

Buy or Rent here

Summit DCL-200. Reviewed by Ali Ramzanali

Summit Audio, a company that stands by its name by being the 'peak' in its class. I had a chance use the DCL-200 while mastering Ethan Kennedy's upcoming album "Raucous." The DCL-200 is a refined piece of gear, and it shows; every knob is calibrated to a near-perfect linearity, the build is rugged, the VU's are highly sensitive, and even the switches reflect the integrity of this compressor. After about 15 minutes, the 12AX7A tubes warm up to a blissful level of amplification- I would suggest running any clean signal through this machine with the compressor bypassed. The 'slope' represents the ratio of the compression - ranging from 1:1 (0) to 7:1 (10). Side chain capabilities make it easy to hook up to an EQ to de-ess vocals - if that's what you need. The DCL-200 is a must-have in any studio. Rent it today and hear for yourself. $75 a week, $150 a month, or sale price $3339.99.

New for August

Vestax is here! VCI 300 ($64/month) and VCI 100 ($32/month) are available for rental. We sell these as well.

We are dealers for Hughes & Kettner - We have in stock Switchblade 50, Edition Tube 25, and Statesman 6L6. German made quality.

We have Nord Electro3's in stock!

The Apogee Rosetta-800 is here! So is the API lunch box ( 2 512C's, 2 550A's, 1 560, & 1 525)

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar04/articles/apogee.htm

Shure X2u : Easiest Best Computer Recording Solution

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

Shure has manufactured the simplest XLR to USB interface for your PC or MAC. Ideal for recording music this tiny unit features Zero Latency monitoring with onboard headphone amp. +48 Volts allows the use of any condenser mic!
Check out shure's site for the virtual tour

http://shure.com/ProAudio/Products/Accessories/us_pro_X2u_content
Then buy or rent it here.

Sweet Godin Tuner on new Seagulls!

Come check out these new Seagulls with tuners built into preamp. Seagulls look great and sound great acoustic and electric. They build in Canada with local wood. Read more about them here. Come play one here.

Yellow Chickita's On sale

Due to a surge in hating on the color yellow. We are offering a stimulus to encourage investment in yellow chickitas.

They are marked down from $2.49 to $1.99.

And as always, You shake 'em - You buy 'em.

The reviews are great!

From ProAudioReview

From the Rupert's web page

Our rental rates are $50 for the Reservation rate or $110 for the month.

Invest in it for $2249.00

New Lower Projector Rental Rates!

Effective now. See here

Optoma DLP projectors 2500-2600 Lumens are $50 for the weekend reservation rate.
Optoma DLP projectors 1500-1800 Lumens are $40 for the weekend reservation rate.

Sweet!

Now you can have a movie night, slide show at your wedding, and corporate presentation cheaper than ever.

Rent a screen for best viewing.

Hughes & Kettner Edition Tube

This amp personifies big sound little package.
You must hear to believe!
Available for rental or sale at Rock n Roll Rentals.

Even More LED Lights in Stock

and

Closed for the Fourth

Rock n Roll Rentals will be closed on Sat. the 4th of July.


Come in starting today, Tuesday June 30th, to rent for the BIG weekend.

You can return your weekend rental on Monday the 6th.

The underrated gear : Things to improve your studio space

Prismacoustic Recoil Stabilizers are perhaps the easiest thing to do to improve the sound in your studio space. Check out why HERE

Buy them at Rock n Roll Rentals RX5 $79.99/each


RX7 $99.99/each



If you are running multiple digital pieces , then syncing with a master time clock like the Apogee Big Ben will dramatically improve the sound of your mix. Read here, Rent here.

Rent Drum kits & Electric Guitars This Summer

Now is the time to start rocking! We have new Drum kits in for rent - with cymbals! as cheap as $35/ month with a $50 deposit. We will be selling some used 5 piece kits with maple shells , hardware and cymbals for $350. We also have used Congas with stand for $99.00

We have Electric Guitars, Amps and Effects pedals ready to be played. Its affordable and fun!

Try it on your own or with the help of quality instructors like those on our links page.

Rosetta 800 is here!

8 Channels of high definition Apogee conversion.

Sound good?

$160/month $80/week

New Focusrite shipment!

We have just received the new Focusrite Liquid Saffire. It features 2 Liquid Preamps with classic pre emulation and 6 quality award winning Focusrite Pres. 24 bit / 192 sampling via firewire. 2 headphone busses. 28 channels of IO!

Come see it here.

Rock n Roll Rentals is an authorized Apogee Dealer

We are happy to add Apogee Electronics to our line of premium recording gear. Right now we have

the DUET
the ENSEMBLE
the ROSETTA800
and
the BIG BEN

Digital recording never sounded so good!

API Lunch boxes here!

Available for serious recordings where the highest quality signal path is desired.

API 500 Series Lunchboxes on the way!

We have Ordered 2 different Lunchboxes setups :

One has 4 512C's, and 2 525's for tracking.
One has 2 512C's, 2 2 525's, 1 550A & 1 560.

Check out apiaudio.com for specs.

We got the Nord Electro 3 & You don't !

Come by and see the marvelous Electro 3! Now with more sounds and effects.

It's awesome! You must check it out.

New Neumann's In stock

We have more Neumann Mics!

In Stock Now! Try or Buy:
TLM67
TLM49
BCM705

These go great with:
Focusrite Liquid Channel
ISAONE

Rupert Neve Designs 5012-H

SAFFIRE PRO 40

Focusrite's new firewire interface is here!
The PRO40 features :




Eight High Quality Award-winning Focusrite Pre-amps
High Quality 24-bit/96kHz Firewire Interface
Total I/O Count of 20 Inputs and 20 Outputs
Two separate headphone buses
Saffire PRO 40 Control Zero-latency DSP Mixer/Router

Watch the Demo at http://www.focusrite.com/products/saffire/saffire_pro_40/

Rent it our buy it at RocknRoll Rentals!

Spring Gear is Starting to come in.

We have been receiving gear to bulk up for our busy Spring season. Here is a sampling of what we've received this week.
Traynor Bass Amps : the DB100, DB800 w/ TC115 & TC210, DB200 & DB200T.
Check out some of our rental rates!
We have brand new Serato Scratch live SL1.


New Korg! Including ESX1 & EMX1, the nanoSeries, the KAOS pad, and Pad Kontrol.

Radial Engineering - high quality DI's and electronics - the Bassbone, the JDI, and J48.

I'm Rene, a rental agent for Rock n Roll Rentals, and you gotta try this mic. This is the K-2 tube microphone from Rode. I had the opportunity to use it on a few different applications and was highly impressed at how accurate, smooth, and best of all, warm it was on just about anything I put it to. With vocals, I noticed, a very smooth low end and a bright bump in the mid-range, which is perfect for male or female voices. It had a very forgiving proximity effect even right up on the diaphragm. It sounded great on an over driven guitar at about 3 feet (depending on your room). To me, I though it sounded best on acoustic guitar pointed off kilt towards the bridge. Very warm and delicious! All in all, a great mic to have for multiple studio applications!

Peluso 2247se vs Rode Procaster

The past weekend I rented both the Peluso 2247 SE and the Rode Procaster microphones for tracking vocals and bass cabinets respectively. After a couple of takes I realized that neither my home recording setup nor my room were right for a mic as sensitive and bright as the 2247 SE.
I ended up using the Procaster and getting a much better result for HipHop vocals. The Peluso is a 2000$ mic while the Procaster is a 200$ mic. This is an example of how, in audio recording, the best thing to do is trust your ears. Spending more is not always going to lead to better results. The two best things you can do is work with what you have and experiment.

by Dylan

You Don't Have to travel the Globe to find a Great Mic

Violet mics are 100% handmade in Latvia. They are known around the world for their superb performance, consistency, and exotic Styling. All mics come with a 5-year warranty. They are a new player in the game, but the word is spreading around. The testimonials from users are impressive and the reviews are great. We are proud to offer the Globe for rent and sell, and as authorized Violet dealers, we offer the Amethyst, Black Finger with FRR Reflection Ring, and the Wedge. Our rental rates are very reasonable. These are some of the most exciting mics available. Don't be afraid to try them. You will be pleasantly surprised.

Tape Op reviews the Globe and Amethyst

the Globe reviewed by Apple Pro Audio

the Finger reviewed by Apple Pro Audio with Sound Bites


Violet offers a free DVD via their web site. Check out their story.

Matt's Pick of the month

Focusrite's Liquid Channel is an excellent design in which 40 different classic preamps/compressors have been sonically sampled to create a variety of characteristics and coloring. I tried some vocal tracks with a Neumann U87 ( the recommended mic according to manual) and was pleasantly surprised. I just stuck with the SSL modeling and it was awesome!
There are some tube pre/comp models available. However, seeing that there is no real tube in the unit, I tended to stay away from those settings. Another important feature that makes this a unique piece of equipment is the Harmonics knob. This control allows the user to add color or warmth to the model being used. This can creates a natural break up or distortion to the track which, on my project, was a desired effect. Before I used this piece I was a little skeptical about the whole idea. In use, it sounded great and provided lots of options.

Furthermore, the Liquid Channel is very easy to use and the fact that you don't have to hook together three different units makes the device very convenient as well. Please read about the Liquid Technology here.

Reviewed byMatt Puryear (Chili Cold BLood)

Rock n Roll Rentals is an authorized Focusrite dealer

Economic stimulus Package!

In this time of economic downturn, we are doing our part to stimulate the economy by lowering several rental rates on Fender electric guitars.

If you are looking for something to get started playing guitar with, that is nicer than the all-in-one guitar in a box setup, we have lowered the rental rates on several Squier electric guitars as well.

We have lowered several prices on Seagull acoustic guitars, including their Artist and Anniversary series.

Stop the Traynor Hatin'

Traynor Amp's name mystifies people the first time they read it. They wonder, "Is this a Traynor amp like training wheels or training bras?" The truth is that the name Traynor originates from the name of the man who created Traynor amps, Pete Traynor.

If your interested in a breif history of the company, please visit this website.

Traynor's mission statement is to "build the most reliable, most affordable, best sounding, best backed professional audio products that money can buy."

In Austin, Texas, Traynor amps often fall to the way side because people have not heard or played these amps. Traynor is a company that is different in that they do not rely on silly gimmicks or pro endorsements, but rather rely on word of mouth and being "the best value for the money" amp.

Don't take our word for it :

Bass Players Traynor club @ TalkBass

Links to reviews:

Bass Amps
YBA200 @ TalkBass
YBA200 @ Harmony Central

Guitar Amps
YCS90 @ Harmony Central
YCS50 @ Harmony Central
YCS100 @ Harmony Central

Keyboard Amps
K4 @ Harmony Central

Reviews on Traynor's Site

RODE M1 InStock

Rode continues to design and manufacture quality microphones at great price points. Their newest offering is a dynamic mic to compete directly with the SM58.
Check out Rode's page for specs and details. We rent them and sell 'em too! Try one out to compare to a 58.
In the same line, Rode has built a stage condenser microphone without much handling noise. Get the specs here.

Check out our page for rental rates.

Welcome to our Blog!

Welcome to Rock n Roll Rentals new Weblog.


We hope to use this forum to discuss musical and audio visual equipment.

Also, we will post news and interesting points.



So, tell your mama. Tell your friends, and check back here soon.